Marian Rivera on Her Iconic Status, Dingdong Dantes, and Why She'll Never Change

It's her seventh year in showbiz, but she’s still as well-loved, as controversial, and as beautiful as when she set your TV screens on fire as Marimar. Here, the feisty, fiery beauty talks about her iconic status, her BF Dingdong Dantes, and why she’ll never change.

You are one of the most famous celebrities in local showbiz. The fanfare around you is absolutely astounding. Your fans love you very much!"Dahil siguro nakikita ng tao kung gaano ako ka-dedicated sa trabaho ko. And also with me, what you see is what you get. In showbiz, you go with the flow: If you need to adjust, sige, adjust, but adjusting is different from changing. Oo nga, ma-ple-please mo sila, pero nakalimutan mo naman kung sino ka. I wasn’t raised to seek approval by pretending to be someone I’m not. When I asked my lola if I can work in showbiz, sabi niya, 'O, sige, papayagan kita, pero walang puwedeng manakit sa ’yo at ’di ka magbabago—kung ano kita pinalaki, ganun ka dapat.' So kung sino man ang college friends ko, sila pa rin hanggang ngayon. "

What’s your biggest dream?"My goal this year is to put up a coffee shop. But my big dream is to be able to truly touch people’s lives, which I hope to do with the banca donation project. Iba pa rin ang totoong minamahal ka dahil may kabuluhan ang ginagawa mo."